1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an opening roof for a vehicle having an opening in the fixed roof, comprising a frame to be mounted around the opening, a flexible cover for selectively closing or exposing the opening, a control beam attached to the front side of the cover and being guided with its lateral ends in guide rails extending along each side of the opening in longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and latch means for holding the control beam in a forward position when the opening roof is closed, said latch means including at least a latch member which is operative between the control beam and the frame.
2. Description of the Related Art
In opening roofs it is a problem to lock the control beam together with a cover due to the required force to obtain the desired tension in the cover in order to effect a smooth appearance, sufficient stability and a proper seal in the closed position. Most of the opening roofs open and close rather slow in connection with this force required during locking since the driving force will be insufficient to tighten the opening roof in the closed position. In a well-known manually operated opening roof, the control beam is provided with a fixed handle which is used to slide the control beam in order to open and close the opening roof. The control beam also includes a rotating handle which, upon rotation, activates a locking mechanism having a latch member to accomplish the locking action between the control beam and the opening roof frame. This operation is cumbersome and inconvenient.